Little Butterfly
by Mystery Missy
Summary: It seemed nothing could go right for Edith. Her best friend Beth was missing, presumed dead. She slept with Mike Munroe only for him to turn around and date Jess. She's pregnant. Oh yeah, and there are monsters trying to kill them all.
1. After the Fall

**Edith Harrison- long black hair, brown eyes, pale skin. 123 lb. 5'5. Creative, caring, persuasive. Dream occupation: artist.**

**Character traits: Before**

**Honest- 95%**

**Charitable- 80%**

**Funny- 45%**

**Brave- 40%**

**Romantic- 30%**

**Curious- 70%**

**Character traits: After**

**Honest- 95%**

**Charitable- 80%**

**Funny- 35%**

**Brave- 60%**

**Romantic- 30%**

**Curious- 30%**

**Relationship status: Before**

**Hannah- 95%**

**Beth- 100%**

**Josh- 85%**

**Sam- 95%**

**Chris- 80%**

**Ashley- 60%**

**Matt- 50%**

**Mike- 70%**

**Emily- 40%**

**Jess- 40%**

**Relationship status: After**

**Josh- 35%**

**Sam- 95%**

**Chris- 90%**

**Ashley- 75%**

**Matt- 45%**

**Mike- 85%**

**Emily- 15%**

**Jess- 20%**

* * *

Edith walked home after a difficult day at work, ready to go to bed and never wake up. Her car was in the shop, so she was forced to walk home, wind biting into her skin. Why didn't she wear a jacket? It was supposed to be warm today. Grumbling to herself, she trudged on in the dark, her feet aching. A sudden rumble of thunder forced her to stop, rain now pelting down on her.

"Yeah, this makes my day better." Edith sighed, already soaked to the bone. Continuing on, a car pulled up beside her and honked at her. Normally she would ignore it, but today she thanked God at who decided to show up at this time.

"Need a ride?" Mike called from his window, and Edith didn't hesitate to take the offer.

"Michael Munroe, you are a Godsend!" Edith praised, climbing inside and warming up.

"Well, I can't let a pretty lady such as yourself drown out there." He joked, driving away. Edith shivered, planning to have a hot shower before she did anything else.

Edith would feel a little awkward at the compliment he gave her, but he and Emily ended their relationship weeks ago. It just didn't work out for them. A lot of girls had crushes on Mike, including her, but she didn't have a chance with a guy like him. They were to be nothing more than friends.

The rain kept coming down in buckets, making it difficult to see the road. It was getting a little dangerous to be out here. Mike could barely see ten feet in front of him. His windshield wipers were going full speed, but still didn't make a difference.

"I can't see anything in this monsoon." Mike frowned, turning his brights on, as if it would help. Edith checked her weather app and saw this storm wouldn't lighten up until tomorrow, in fact, it would get worse before then.

"Maybe we should stop until the storm passes." Edith suggested, not wanting them to crash.

"My house is just up here, so we won't have to be stuck in the car all night."

"Is this just a ploy to get me alone in your house?" She teased, hiding the slight blush she wore.

"Nah, I promise, I'll be a gentleman." Chuckling, he pulled into his driveway. The two ran through the rain and into the house, Edith shivering. Mike noticed and quickly ran to grab her a towel to dry off with.

"Thanks." She graciously took the towel and began to dry off, unfortunately, there was only so much to do with her soaked clothing.

"You know, I think my mom has some clothes that will fit you. Wouldn't want you to get sick." Mike suggested, already heading to grab some clothing for her.

"I don't want to be a bother-"

"No no, no bother at all."

Edith silently nodded, letting Mike grab her some dry clothing. She hadn't been to his house in a while, and noticed his mom had gotten another porcelain figurine to add to her collection. She had an addiction to those things. Wandering the lounge, she noticed some photos on the wall. It was prom night, a group photo that her dad had taken and gave everyone a copy. She went with Beth, Beth deciding that since Edith didn't get a date in time, that they would go together. The memory made her smile, yet her chest tightened as she remembered her best friend.

"Hey," Mike came back with some yoga pants and a sweater in hand. "The bathroom is down the hall, there. I'll throw your clothes into the dryer when you're done."

"Thanks." Taking the clothing, Edith went into the bathroom and shut the door, shaking her head as she tried to forget about the prank. She should have stopped them, but she was too busy helping Beth clean up. "C'mon Edie, not now." She told herself, stripping off her cold and wet shirt.

Her clothes clung to her body like a second skin, her already pale body seeming even paler, goosebumps breaking out when exposed to the air. It felt so good to be in warm clothing, the sweater soft to the touch.

Edith rejoined Mike in the lounge, noticing he had two warm mugs of hot chocolate on the table for them, Mike on the couch in pants and a wife beater, a large blanket wrapped around him with a spot for her. Biting her lip, she took a breath, hoping her wasn't about to go play boy on her.

"So, is this a common occurrence?" She asked, placing a hand on her hip.

"Only if you want it to be." He smirked, opening the blanket to invite her in. The cold made the decision for her, and she sat down beside him, letting Mike wrap the blanket around her freezing body. "When is the last time we hung out together?" Mike questioned.

"Before you dated Emily." Emily knew that Edith liked Mike and made it clear that he was her's, not Edith's.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's fine." She lied, not wanting to seem jealous or clingy. It really hurt that she couldn't hang out with Mike, they were friends after all, having known each other for a long time, almost as long as she knew Beth.

"I missed this, you know. Just the two of us together, no one to bother us." He explained, his hand creeping to hers. Edith watched as he took her hand in his, thumb rubbing circles in her skin. "I've actually wanted to do this for a long time. I really care about you, Edith, you know that, right?" Unable to form words, she nodded. Mike slowly leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. She reciprocated the kiss without hesitation, her hand snaking its way into his hair.

The kiss slowly became more and more intense, hands roaming and feeling, mapping each other's bodies. Clothing was shed as Mike picked Edith up and carried her into his room, not breaking away from her lips. Laying her in his bed, Mike began to lick and kiss down her body, savoring her taste. Moving up, he kissed her lips one more time before he began to position himself, Edith begging for more, her words coming out as nothing more than pants. Pushing in, she wrapped her legs around his waist, taking in every detail of his face.

It was her first time, and it was all she could imagine it would be, but she never imagined it would be Mike who would take her. She rode through it, moaning and panting for more and more until they finished together, Mike spilling inside her.

"I love you, Mike." Maybe that was where she went wrong. One small confession in the heat of the moment had doomed her to ruin everything. At the moment, she couldn't bring herself to care, she was being held by Mike who whispered sweet words into her ear. It wouldn't last.

The next two months had been rough. She had been getting sick constantly, and she had missed her periods. She normally wouldn't worry as when she had been incredibly stressed out, her cycle tended to skip, but that was when she was a virgin. The doctors confirmed her fears. She was pregnant, and it was Mike's.

Never had she been so scared to see Mike before, but never was she about to tell him he was a daddy. Calming herself, she knocked on the door, counting the seconds as they passed by. Fifteen seconds had gone before Mike answered the door. He smiled as he greeted her, kissing her lips.

"Hi Mike. I need to talk to you." She said, not wanting to waste anytime. Mike noticed how nervous she was, and he led her inside, concerned. Sitting on the couch, Edith took a breath, steeling herself.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Mike asked, holding her hand. Tears began to swell in her eyes as she prepared to tell him.

"I'm pregnant." She exclaimed, shocking Mike. Mike stared at Edith, wondering if this was a prank or not, but Edith didn't do that kind of stuff. She was pregnant. 'We didn't use a condom.' Mike told himself, berating himself for not thinking about grabbing one.

"Are-are you sure?" He questioned. She nodded her head.

"Two months." Mike ran a hand over his face, not sure what to do now. Edith knew he didn't commit to anyone, which is why she talked to Sam about what she should do. She came to a decision that would hurt for a long time, but in would be better for everyone involved. "I'm keeping it, but you don't have to be involved in their life. I'm not even going to ask for child support. Whatever you want to do, I'm okay with it." She really wasn't, but Mike wasn't ready for a baby, she didn't even know if she was.

"Edith, I-I can't… I'm sorry." He choked, feeling overwhelmed by it all. Edith bit back her tears, understanding.

"It's okay, Mike. We're still friends. It won't change a thing."

Things did change, though she tried not to make it obvious. After she left his house, she went to visit Josh, crying and needing a hug. He let her stay at his place, giving her ice cream and watching comedies together. Their friends knew that she and Mike had a thing for a while, and were quite confused when he started to date Jessica. Edith was heartbroken, but gave her support for the happy couple, never noticing the sad glanced Mike sent her. It was a known fact that Mike was the baby daddy, but no one mentioned it, and she was thankful for that.

During the pregnancy, she grew closer to Josh, Chris, and Sam, naming the Chris her baby's uncle and Sam the official aunt. She had named Josh the Godfather, much to his excitement. For a while, things were normal. She had a babyshower, getting so many gifts from Josh, and Matt had even given her a tiny, pink varsity jacket with the name Claire embroidered into the back. It was good, then the anniversary came up, and suddenly everything fell apart.


	2. Reunion

Edith is sitting in the bus, watching the trees pass by. She shifted in her seat, Claire kicking around. Rubbing her large belly, she tries to soothe her daughter. It had been a year since everyone had been together up on the mountain. It would be so different this year, for many reasons. She just prayed everyone would play nice, and that there would be snacks up there. Pregnancy cravings were horrible. Her recent favorite craving were fish sticks and chocolate pudding.

The bus pulled up to Blackwood Pines, Edith grabbing her duffle bag and maneuvering through the aisle. She paid the driver a little extra money for taking her so far, wishing him a good night.

"You too, ma'am." He waved, leaving her at the base of the mountain.

She wrapped her maternity parka around her tighter, glad she wore some gloves in this cold weather. Slinging her bag around her back, she began to make her way to the main gate, grinning as she saw Josh waiting for her.

"Well howdy ho, mama!" Josh greeted, arms spread wide in greeting.

"Hey Josh!" She hugged Josh, making sure he could feel Claire kicking around.

"Whoa! Seems like the little squirts happy to see me." He joked, placing his hand on her stomach.

"Of course she is. You are the one who bought us a hundred dollars worth of fish sticks and pudding."

"Ya know, I tried them and I have to say it was not as bad as I thought."

Edith laughed, joining arms with Josh as they walked to the gate. Josh took her bag, insisting a pregnant lady need not carry so much weight.

"So the gates busted, we're gonna have to climb over. Can you do that?" Josh asked, eyes glancing to her eight month baby bump.

"I think so, as long as I have help." Edith stared at the wall, seeing a few ways to get up there.

Edith grabbed onto the rocks protruding from the wall, Josh helping her up. She went slowly, slightly regretting wearing such a long sweater. It was basically a dress to her, despite the baby belly she sported. Once she was at the top, she straddled the wall, watching Josh climb up with her bag on his back.

"You good?" She asked.

"I should be asking you that." Chuckling, she took her bag once he reached the top. Josh jumped down, nearly falling over. She reached down as far as she could for him to take the bag, then placing her foot firmly on a rock, slinging the other one over. She carefully climbed down until Josh had a hold of her, and she let him catch her as she jumped down.

"Wow," She pant, feeling out of breath. "That sucked."

"Ha, I bet."

The two made their way to the cable car, talking about random topics that came to mind. Edith enjoyed talking to Josh again. It had been so difficult after Hannah and Beth disappeared last year. She did her best to be there to support him, and he returned the favor when she found she was pregnant.

Everytime she came up here, it was always more beautiful than the last. The view was astounding, and she wishes she could see this everyday. The higher the cable car went, the more breathtaking it became. All that was left was the hike to the lodge, not something she was excited for.

"We're the first people up here, so it may be a little while before we get inside." Josh mentioned.

"It's going to be so nice to have everyone together. Telling jokes, having fun, feeling the baby kick." Edith grinned, rubbing her stomach. "My bet is that Ashley will be the first to ask."

"If she and Chris got together, she wouldn't need to ask. He'd give her one of her own."

Edith laughed, just imagining how many kids Ashley would have, much to Chris's dismay. The girl would have an army of little kids, mostly girls, and that meant that when they were older, Chris had to deal with a handful of PMSing females in one house.

"Man, they just need to run head on and get together already. Ow!" Her stomach began to tense, cramping up. Josh's eyes widen in panic, asking if the baby was coming, if she needed to sit down. Edith couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'm fine. It's just false contractions. My body is getting ready since I'm at the end of my trimester."

"Oh good, good. I was worried you'd give birth right here for a moment."

"Wouldn't that be a story."

The two arrived at the lodge, not a single person in sight. Tired, Edith sat down on the stairs, relieved that the Braxton Hicks had subsided. Josh set her bag beside her.

"I'm gonna meet up with Chris real quick, you good here?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I need to rest a little. I'll be fine."

A little wary, Josh went to meet up with Chris, leaving Edith to rest at the stairs of the lodge. Stretching, she suddenly felt quite peckish. Reaching into her duffle, she pulled out a bag of dehydrated jalapenos and a tiny container of peanut butter. Of all her cravings, this was one of her favorites despite hating jalapenos. She dug in, dipping the pepper in the peanut butter and tossing it in her mouth, feeling satisfied.

"Interesting snack." A voice suddenly called, slightly startling Edith. Looking up, she saw Ashley and Matt walking up the trail. Matt kneeled down and raised a brow at her snack, Ashley sitting beside her. "Does it taste good?" He asked, and Edith dipped a pepper for him.

"Try it." She suggested, grinning. Matt hesitated for a moment before shrugging.

"Why not?" Taking the pepper, he popped it in his mouth and began to chew. He squinted, as if trying to understand the strange combination of flavors. Nodding, he swallowed, seeming to enjoy the snack. "That was actually kinda good."

"Really?" Ashley questioned. She was allergic to peanuts and couldn't confirm it for herself, but took Matt's word as it was.

Josh, Chris, and Sam had now arrived, walking up the path to the lodge. Putting away her snack, Edith asked Matt to help her stand. Grunting, she stood up and leaned against the rail, not liking to sit for too long.

"Hey gang... you guys get up here okay?" Joshed asked.

"Coulda done with some bellboys, but hey, can't get everything." Matt shrugged, grinning.

"Yeah it was pretty easy…" Ashley said, rubbing her hands together. "A little creepy though... I mean, it's just really weird being back here."

Josh and Chris jogged up the stairs, Edith, Sam, Ashely, and Matt staying down below. Edith walked around a little, trying to get Claire to stop fussing. She had begun to move much more, being so close to the end of her pregnancy, it was to be expected. She was just glad she didn't have to pee, yet.

"Hey," Sam began, coming to stand beside her and Ashley. "How's little Claire doing?"

"Restless, but that means she's healthy so I can't complain." Edith smiled, so excited at the prospect of meeting her baby. Sam and Ashley both grinned, each of them having just a little baby fever since Edith announced her pregnancy.

"Is it alright if I feel her move?" Ashley asked, and Edith happily let her feel. Placing her hand on her stomach, she gasped whens he felt the powerful kick of Claire. Sam felt as well, impressed by how strong she was already.

"Wow. Seems like you got a future soccer player on your hands." Sam teased. Edith waved over for Matt, inviting him to feel Claire kick.

"Don't be shy!" Matt walked over, not really sure what to do. Chuckling, Edith took his hand and placed it on her stomach, laughing at the expression on his face when Claire directly kicked his palm.

"Whoa, doesn't it hurt?" He asked, amazed how women could handle a writhing human being inside their bodies.

"It's not comfortable, but I'd rather have an active baby than one who didn't move at all."

The boys were still trying to get inside, Chris and Josh now having to look for another way in. Before Chris met with Josh, however, he stopped to ask how everyone was, especially Ashley. Edith watched the two, mentally shouting at them to just make a move. As Chris walked away from the red head, Edith internally sighed before seeing he was coming to her.

"Hey, how you holding up?" Chris asked.

"Great. I don't have to pee and I have a snack. I count this as a win." She joked.

"Jeez, how often do you have to pee?"

"Like twenty times a day. Not fun." Laughing at his apologetic expression, she let him meet up with Josh to get the door open.

After a few minutes, the girls walked up to the door, ready to get inside and out of the cold. Edith could see Chris behind the glass, a lighter and can in his hand. There was a burst of flame and then he had the door open, his hand burnt on the hot metal. Chris begins bowing.

"Thank you, thank you thank you, I'll be here all week-" A baby wolverine suddenly runs out the door, scaring Chris. "EEEK! Jeez!" The girls laugh at their friend, Edith clutching her stomach as she laughed. "Crap that thing freaked me out."

"What was it? Are you okay?" Ashley asked once she calmed down.

"It was like a bear, or a tiger or something-"

"Aw it was just a cute little baby wolverine!" Sam cooed. Josh came up and pat Chris on the shoulder.

"Don't worry buddy, you're gonna be a big boy soon." Everyone entered the house, glad to be inside. "Home sweet home!"

Edith winced as the Braxton Hicks returned, and she set her bag down before heading over to the armchair, slouching down as the cramps soothed out. Josh moved to the fireplace, trying to start it. Looking at the entrance, Edith took a breath as she saw Mike and Jessica enter.

"What's up party people!" Mike called out, greeting everyone.

"Heey!" Jessica waved, and suddenly Edith wanted the Earth to swallow her whole. It hurt seeing them together, despite Mike and Edith ending, whatever they had. Mike's eyes briefly locked with her, and she politely waved.

Jess sat down on the couch, waving at Edith, Mike joining her.

"Hey Edie, you look great!" Jess complimented. Despite knowing Edith was pregnant with Mike's baby, she was pretty civil to her since she knew Mike and her had an agreement that he didn't have to be involved in Claire's life if he didn't want to. It was a mutual decision, or so they thought. Edith gave the option, and he took it, she dealt with it.

"Thanks. I've got the pregnancy glow, according to my mom." She shrugged.

"That's a real thing?"

"Yeah, I don't bother with foundation because of it."

Edith never wore much makeup to begin with, but foundation was a must. Mike and Jess began to kiss, and Edith looked away to give them their privacy. She could handle Jessica, but Emily had just walked in, and Edith was now remembering her breathing exercises.

"Oh. My god. That is so gross. Are you trying to swallow his face whole?" Emily sneered. Matt attempted to calm Emily down, but it didn't work out. "Seriously can she be any more obvious? No one wants in on your territory, honey."

"Excuse me, did you say something?" Jessica stood, challenging Emily.

"Oh did you not hear me? Was your sluttiness too loud?"

"Sounds like someone's bitter she didn't make the cut."

"Yeah. It's all a big cattle call with that dreamboat. Congrats, you're top cow."

"Cuts real deep calling Miss Homecoming a cow."

Edith watched in silence, Claire seeming to feel the tension, and she didn't like it. She moved around, making Edith wince. Taking a breath, she held it for five second before exhaling for four. Matt had stepped up and tried to get Jess to stop.

"H-hey, you're making everyone uncomfortable, Jess-"

"Jealous much? Emily too frigid for you, too?"

"Hey that's... uncalled for... look-"

"Whatever. I don't give a crap what you think."

Edith tried to soothe Claire by rubbing circles on her side, but it wasn't helping. Emily was now biting back, and hard.

"At least I can think. 4.0, bitch, honor roll. Suck on that when you're trying to sleep your way into a job."

"Who needs grades when you've got all the natural advantages you can handle?"

"Oh please."

"You couldn't buy a moldy loaf of bread with your skanky ass."

"Are you serious? Do you think that's insulting?"

"That bitch is on crack or something."

Edith looked over to Mike, urging him to do something. He didn't look at her though, and now she was getting Braxton Hicks on top of Claire moving so much. Matt tried to defuse the situation with Emily.

"Emily! Stop! This is out of hand. There's no reason to fight like this!"

"Yeah, Em! Why you pickin' fights over your ex boyfriend? Huh?"

"Well at least I'm not with a man who has a baby with another woman!" Emily snarled, and Edith felt tears begin to swell in her eyes. She had crossed a line that no one ever dared to. Mike stood up from the couch, looking over to see Edith was crying.

"Emily, you need to stop now." He asserted. Emily scoffed before looking at Edith with tears in her eyes.

"Fine, just get that whore on a leash." She bit, before walking over to her bags. Joshed moved over from the fireplace to talk to Mike.

"Mike - why don't you check out the guest cabin. The one I told you about." Mike nodded, sparing a glance at Edith. Jess walked over to the door and waited for Mike as he checked on Edith.

"You okay?" He asked, speaking with her for the first time in a while.

"Yeah, yeah just, false contractions. They'll settle in a moment. Go be with your girl." Edith nodded to Jess. Nodding, he met up with Jess and left the lodge.

Edith took a deep breath, struggling to stand up, feeling the need to cry. She blamed it on the hormones and not Emily's cruel words. Shedding her parka and gloves, Edith began to pace the room, occasionally rubbing her stomach.

"This is going to be a long night" She muttered to herself, drying her eyes.


	3. The Psycho

Edith sat on the couch with Ashley and Chris, eating her jalapenos and peanut butter as Josh tried to start a fire. She was using her stomach as a table for the peanut butter, Claire having settled down now. Ashley and her chanted Josh as he struggled with the fireplace.

"Alright, peanut gallery, you know what? I got an idea for you two." He pointed to Ashley and Chris.

"What?" Ashley questioned. She and Chris stood up and gathered around Josh while Edith propped her feet up on the empty couch.

"Okay well I am pretty sure that somewhere in this crazy place we used to have... a spirit board."

"Wow you have a "spirit board"?" Chris astonished.

"Wait are you saying... we should have a seance?" Ashley gapped at the idea while Chris brushed it off.

"Those things are a joke, man. They don't do shit."

"No way bro. We used to do it all the time. Me and... well…" Sam came down the stairs, interrupting what Josh was about to say.

"Hey Josh. No hot water's kinda major oversight dontcha think...?

"Yeah yeah, just gotta fire up the boiler. It's in the basement." He turned to Ashley and Chris. "You guys see if you can find the spirit board." Josh pointed to Edith. "You relax and keep my Goddaughter settled."

"Aye aye, sir!" Edith saluted, eating another pepper.

Sam and Josh headed down to the basement while Ashley and Chris left to find the spirit board. As she waited for the others to return, she had finished her snack and frowned, wanting some more.

"Darn." Struggling up, she walked to the kitchen to throw away her trash. Making it back to the great room, she saw Ashley was there, but no Chris to be found. "Did you find it?" Edith asked.

"Nope, no such luck." Ashley sighed. The voices of Sam, Josh, and Chris could be heard echoing in the lodge, getting closer.

"I was not!" Sam exclaimed.

"Come on, you totally pissed yourself!"

"Josh!" She scolded. Ashley and Edith saw Chris wearing a monk's robe, Edith chuckling.

"What... in god's name... are you wearing?" Ashley asked.

"I found my true calling." Chris made the sign of the cross.

"Please tell me you're going to take a vow of silence." Chris pretends to speak inaudibly, making Ashley chuckle. "Okay okay... Did you at least find the thingy." Chris takes the Ouija board out of his costume.

"Boi-oi-oi-oing! Here's our one way ticket to the spirit realm...!"

"You know what?" Sam waves her arms. "You know what? No! I've just been through enough spooking for one night, okay? I see a hot bath in my crystal ball." She begins to walk up the stairs. "Alright? So have fun...! Oh but watch out for that Josh. He's a schemer!"

"Okay." Josh smirks, taking the spirit board from Chris. Edith rolled her eyes at her friend's antics.

"As a rule of thumb, pregnant women aren't allowed to participate in seances, so I think I'm gonna take a nap." Edith announced, grabbing her bag and making her way to the stairs.

"Hey, I got the guest room ready for you. I knew you'd need like a thousand blankets." Josh told her, and she smiled, grateful.

"Thank you, Josh, thank you."

Making her way into her room, Edith set her bag by the bed, mentally debating on whether she should take her boots off or not. If she did, she'd be much more comfortable but her feet would be cold and she wouldn't be able to put them back on. Deciding to keep them on, Edith pulled back the covers and slipped into bed, burying herself in blankets as she slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Edith is fast asleep in bed, unaware of the masked man that was watching her. He walked over to her, carefully placing an oxygen mask over her face, a sleeping gas being pumped through the tube. Once he was sure she wouldn't wake up when he moved her, he picked her up carefully and took her from the room.

* * *

Edith woke up to a bright light, and winced, reaching up to rub her eyes. She felt cold and wondered if the covers fell off as she napped. Opening one eye, her whole body froze as she saw she wasn't in her room anymore. Instead, she was in a mock hospital room, laying in a bare bed.

"You're awake." A strange voice spoke from beside her, and she turned to see a man in a mask staring down at her. She instinctively wrapped her hands around her stomach, tears brimming her eyes. "Don't cry. You're safe here, Edith."

"H-how do you know my name?" She questioned, lip quivering.

"I know everything about you." He tilted his head down and stared at her stomach. "And about little Claire."

"What do you want?" She hissed, afraid for her baby.

"I want to show you something. You need only to look." He pointed to the wall opposite him, and Edith turned to see various pictures of Mike. They were pictures of him at school flirting with girls, with Emily kissing her, Mike and Jess down at the cable station.

"How did-"

"This man is the father of your baby, yet he goes around, sleeping with others, never realizing how lucky he is to have someone who loves him so much, she is willing to let him give up all parental rights so he doesn't have to stop sleeping around."

Edith silently cried, staring at the photos before her. Mike wasn't hers, he had his own life, he didn't need to worry about her and Claire, right?

"You want him to be there for Claire, as your own father was too busy for you. But, here you are, suffering as he fucks that whore of his while you carry his child in your womb."

"Please stop…" She whimpered.

"Despite Michael abandoning you, you still love him, don't you?" The psycho asked and Edith let out a sob she was holding.

"Yes." Wiping her eyes, she turned to the psycho. "Please let me go, I don't want to hear this anymore!"

He walked over to a surgical table and grabbed a tissue, handing it to Edith. She hesitantly took it, drying her eyes as he brushed back her long, ebony locks.

"There there. It's alright." The psycho shushed. "Soon, all of this will be all over."

Edith didn't like the sound of that, and started to shake in fear. Placing a hand on her stomach, she watched as he walked to the other side of the room and pulled out a bloodied crib from the shadows. Edith felt sick at the sight.

"Soon, we will be a family, and Michael will never touch you again." Her stomach dropped at what the psycho was implying. Before she could say anything, he quickly left the room and locked the door behind him, leaving her alone.

Edith was terrified for Mike, for Claire, she climbed out of the bed and marched over to the door, pounding on it. It wouldn't budge.

"Oh, ow!" She felt another contraction hit, but this one was different from the others. She leaned against the wall, wincing in pain as the contractions continued. It lasted for about a minute before fading out, and then suddenly, she felt something gush between her legs.

"No, no no no, oh God!" Edith banged on the door. "My water broke! I need a hospital! Hello?!" Edith screamed, but the psycho was long gone by now. She was locked in here, a psychopath wanting to make her part of his family, and God knows what he wanted to do with Mike.

"Someone please help me." She begged, more afraid than she had ever been.


	4. Water Under the Bridge

She had minute long contractions every ten minutes, unable to move or breathe properly during them. Now laying on the bed, she struggled to remove her maternity jeans, which had been soaked with amniotic fluid and were becoming quite uncomfortable. She slipped out of her boots, yanking off her jeans and tossing them to the side. Now came the hard part of putting her boots back on.

She grunted as she reached down and began to slip her foot back in, struggling when she reached the heel. Eventually, she forced both feet back into her boots, and lay back, exhausted. Taking a breath, she felt another contraction hit her, and moaned in pain. A door slammed from somewhere close by, and she hoped it was the psycho, despite it all. He seemed to care about the baby, so maybe she could trick him into thinking something was wrong and she needed a doctor.

"Help!" She screamed, whimpering as the contraction moved down her abdomen. "Please! Help me!"

It must have worked, because she could hear a set of running feet coming closer to her. Biting her lip, she squeezed her eyes shut as she focused on breathing. Edith heard them slam against the door a few times before it burst open.

"Edith? Oh fuck." Edith opened her eyes to see Mike, dirtied and scratched. She couldn't help but cry in joy seeing him alive.

"Mike, oh my God!" She sobbed, reaching out for him. Mike ran to her side, checking over her to see if she was hurt. Edith noticed his fingers were gone, and wondered if the psycho did that. "You're fingers-"

"They're fine, I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"My water broke." She panted, her contraction finally ending.

"Shit!" Mike cursed, thinking for a moment. "C'mon. We gotta get out of here." Helping her out of bed, Mike wrapped an arm around her waist to support her, and met up with Sam outside the room.

"Edith! What happened?" Sam asked, seeing her friend's reddened eyes.

"Her water broke and we need to get her to safety." Mike explained, fearful for Edith and Claire.

Mike escorted Edith and Sam down the hall of the basement, occasionally checking on Edith. As the walked further down the hall, they approach a door and suddenly heard someone crying.

"Is that Ashley?" Edith questioned. Mike and Sam force the door open and see Ashley and Chris strapped to chairs, Chris is holding a gun in his hand. From across the room, the psycho approaches them.

"Noo! No no no! Get away!" Ashley screams in terror. Chris shoots at the Psycho three times. The Psycho looks down at his chest to find nothing.

"Oh Chris... Oh, Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris."

"What the fuck?!"

"Oh you've heard of blanks before. I mean really?" The Psycho takes off his mask and reveals himself to be Josh.

"... Josh?" Chris gaps, unbelieving. Josh laughs as if he played the most amazing joke in the world.

"Josh!" Sam exasperated, shaking her head while Mike seemed to be furious.

"Josh…"

"Oh, oh very good! Every one of you! Got my name! And after all you've been through! Good, good-good-good. I mean how does that feel?" Sam unties Ashley and Mike unties Chris. Edith can only stare at the man she made Godfather of her daughter, the man who had just locked her in a room and terrorized her, caused her to cry in fear. This wasn't the Josh she knew.

"Right? How does it feel? Do you enjoy feeling terrorized? Humiliated? I mean, panicked? All those emotions that my sisters got to feel once one year ago! Only guess what? They didn't get to laugh it off! No! Nope! No no no! They're gone!"

"I don't know if you noticed this, Josh, but none of us are laughing." Mike hissed, placing himself in front of Edith who seemed to be in shock by it all.

"Oh come, come-come-come-come. Why the long faces? Come on! It's good to get the heart racing every now and then, right? And race they did, I mean, every one of you, just pitter-pat, pitter-pat! I hope you appreciated my little phantasmagorical spectacle! I mean, no detail too small! No opportunity missed! It was such a delight to play the puppet master to all of your Pavlovian panic! And all that gore? I mean, gore, there was gore galore! Fake bodies... I mean, God that shit was expensive! And no retakes! Nope, nope, nope, only double takes! You should have seen your faces. Hook, line and sinker, for every little stinker!"

Sam approaches Josh slightly, trying to reason with him. Edith didn't think he could be reasoned with, not after all of this.

"Josh... Your fingerprints were all over this. It was obviously you."

"Oh really? Really really really?"

"You're crying out for help, Josh... Come on, you wanted to get caught, didn't you?"

"Oh sure. I'm totally just crying out for help. "Help me! Oh help me! Help help." Come on! Come on! It was just for fun! I mean, so you got a little bit of egg on your face, right? Nobody got hurt-"

"What are you talking about you ass hat? Jessica is fucking dead!" Mike shout, surprising Josh. Edith gasped, putting a hand over her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.

"What?" Josh asked, confused.

"Did you hear me?! Jessica is dead, and YOU ARE GONNA FUCKING PAY YOU DICK!" Mike hits Josh over the head with the gun, knocking him out cold.

Edith doesn't know what to say as she watches Mike tie up Josh. Sam comes over to comfort her, telling her that everything was going to be alright. Mike dragged Josh up and told everyone to get upstairs. Edith was numb, being lead by Sam up the stairs and to the couch. She only snapped out of her daze when the contractions hit again, forcing a moan from her lips.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked, kneeling beside her, placing a hand on her stomach.

"I'm in labor, of course I'm not okay." She tried to joke, but it came out a whimper.

"Just hold on, okay. We're gonna head out of here at dawn. From what I hear, it takes around ten to fifteen hours for a new mom to be fully dilated."

"Where'd you hear that?" Edith asked, as it wasn't something that came up in any kind of normal conversation.

"I, I looked it up." Mike shrugged. Before standing, he placed a kiss on her head and got up to leave with Chris to lock Josh up.

Edith watched as Mike left, smiling at his words. He actually look up pregnancy facts, even after their decision. Did he want to be there for her, for Claire? Edith knew he tended to secretly care much more than he showed, and knowing that, she had hope.

"Mike," She called. Mike turned around expectantly. "Be careful, okay?" He huffed a smile, nodding his head.

"Of course."

Mike and Chris left, dragging Josh with them. Leaning back, Edith closed her eyes and took a deep breath, giggling at how insane tonight had been. If only she knew how much worse it would become.

* * *

Sam had been helping her with breathing exercises when they heard a sharp scream coming from outside. Chris stood up from his chair as the screams got closer. Edith began to worry as Mike was still in the shed.

"Let me in! Let me IN!" A voice yelled out, banging on the door. Ashley furrowed her brows.

"Is that-?"

"It's Em!" Sam announced.

"Let her in! Quick!" Chris, Ashley, and Sam ran to the front door. Chris opens the door and Emily falls inside. Edith looked on from the couch, unable to get up due to a contraction.

"Shut the door! Oh my God- shut the door!" Ashley and Sam drag Emily inside and help her up. The four make their way to the Great Room.

"Em, are you alright?" Chris questioned her.

"I didn't think that I'd make it-"

"You were screaming bloody murder."

Everyone began to ask her what happened, while Edith just watched on, clutching her stomach. Emily began to describe what had happened, that a monster was up here.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked her, though she didn't look or sound okay to Edith.

"I'm fine, I don't feel anything, I just need to calm down. It was moving so damn fast-"

" What?"

"I just had to get away-"

"Away from what?" Sam cut in, confused.

"Th-there was this thing, whatever it was-!"

"Em, Em, you can relax... Josh was messing with us... but we-"

"You're not listening to me."

"Em, can you tell us exactly what happened?" Chris tried again. Emily sighed, exasperated.

"I am trying to tell you. We were climbing up the tower and it fell. The whole tower just fell! Right into the mines-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, what mines?"

"There are these mine shafts all over, running under everything, when the tower fell we ended up down there."

"Wait, Emily," Edith stood up, walking over to the terrified woman. "Where's Matt? Is he okay?"

"Matt- oh God. We couldn't use the cable car so we climbed the tower and then it fell and we were down in the mine, like way down, down in this terrifying freaking mine shaft… And then, it was Matt and me down there and…" Emily choked on her words. "Oh God I think that Matt might be dead."

Edith gasped, covering her mouth. First Jessica and now Matt? How could Josh have done any of this?

"I- I was walking down there, in the mines, and it was dark and I found this pile and there was Beth's head!"

"Oh my God!" Edith sobbed, covering her face with her hands. Chris took her into his arms, trying to comfort her.

"I think they fell down there."

"Jesus Christ." Breathed Chris, feeling tears hit his chest as he held Edith.

"But the worst part is I don't think Hannah died, like, from the fall, not right away…"

"What? What do you mean?!" Ashely questioned, horrified at the idea.

"I don't know... I feel like she was down there... like, starving to death... for weeks... when we were all up here looking for her... we had no idea!"

By now, Edith is completely distraught, and Emily feels guilty for saying all of this with her in the room, especially when all her emotions were heightened.

"I think we should change the subject." Sam suggested, seeing her friend crying. Emily nodded her head.

"Listen. In... In the tower there was a radio and I - I got through to someone - but that was right when the tower collapsed!"

Just then, Mike walked into the great room and took in the scene before him. He jogged over to Edith who all but threw herself in his arms, attempting to calm herself down. He saw Emily, banged up but still alive.

"Em! You made it! What about Matt?"

"We're trying to figure that out…" Ashley sighed.

"And there was this "monster" that was chasing her…" Chris mentioned, shaking his head.

"She's all messed up, guys." Mike gently separated from Edith who was much calmer now. "Emily? Hey, Em?"

A bang is heard from the back door of the lodge. Edith jumps, feeling near in tears again after everything that has happened tonight. She sits back on the couch, holding Sam's hand as Chris and Mike go to see who it is.

Edith turns to watch, her breath steadily become shakier. As Chris opens the door, it is suddenly kicked in and a man comes barging in, taking the gun from Mike and tossing it to the ground. He orders them to move, and they are taken to the great room. Mike moves to Edith's side, holding her hand.

"Let me say what I came to say. I'm here to tell you what you're up against being back on this mountain. You should never have returned," He nods over to Edith. "Especially not with a pregnant lady. I don't know why you did after what happened last year." The Stranger drops his bag near the fireplace.

"You mean with Hannah and Beth?" Ashley questioned, and Edith felt suspicious about this man's involvement with them.

"Yeeah, how could you know without being involved-" Chris drawled, looking to Sam.

"Or responsible-?!"

"You hold on to your horses. I don't take kindly to you kids coming up here to my mountain-"

"Your mountain?" Mike scoffs. "I'm sure the Washingtons would be very surprised to hear that."

"Hehheh. Well, this mountain don't belong to me, it's true. But it don't belong to the Washingtons. This mountain belongs to the Wendigo."

"What the hell's a Wendigo?"

"Let's hear him out." Edith looked up to Mike. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Not like we have a choice."

"Now I'm only going to tell you this once. It doesn't matter to me if you believe it or not. I got reasons I want to... Get it off my chest…"

"See? I told you! He's guilty as shit! Guilty of something!"

"Michael!" Edith held her finger to her lips.

"There is a curse. That dwells in these mountains. Should any man or woman resort to cannibalism in these woods the spirit of the Wendigo shall be unleashed."

A chill ran up Edith's back, her hair standing on end. Rubbing over her baby bump, she held on tighter to Mike's hand while being careful of his fingers. Even if this was some story from an insane man, Edith didn't want Claire to be born on this mountain. She just wanted out of here.

"You're going to need to find somewhere safe."

"The basement might be okay…" Sam suggested.

"Okay. Get down there, now. All of you. And wait."

"What? Why? For how long?"

"Until dawn." Emily answered, having contacted someone.

"Guys…" Mike began. "I ran off and left Josh when I heard screaming." He admit.

"Where did you leave him?" The stranger asked Mike.

"In the shed…"

"Your friend will already be dead." Edith bit her lip, fighting tears at those words. Apparently, Chris didn't believe him.

"No... No he can't be... We were just with him!"

"A lot can happen quickly on this mountain."

"No. I'm gonna go get him."

Edith shook her head at Chris's insane idea of going to get Josh. She had already lost so many friends, she didn't want to lose anymore. She especially didn't want to lose her baby. Wincing, she felt another contraction hit. She had been keeping track of the space between them, and they were closing in faster than they should be.

Mike must have heard her whimper as he knelt down and began to rub her stomach, promising that everything would be okay. He picked her up and carried her down to the basement, setting her down in a chair.

"Everything will be okay, I promise." He whispered, brushing her hair behind her ear and pressing their foreheads together. "I love you Edith." Tearing up, she held his hand, and whispered back to him.

"I love you too."


	5. Mother's Fear

"How close are they?"

"...Fine minutes apart."

"Shit! So soon?" Mike paced for a moment, hands on his hips as the tried to figure out what to do. "Okay, I'm going to see how far you've dilated." Mike knelt down, taking a lamp from the table.

"Are you sure you know what to do?" Emily questioned, raising a brow.

"I took classes. Several classes." Mike replied, moving the lamp down and lifting her sweater up her thighs. Emily and Sam turned around, giving them privacy.

Mike mentally ticked off how many centimeters she had dilated and cursed when she was nearly six centimeters. The baby was coming soon.

"I think she's going to be here before Dawn." He lamented, not wanting his daughter to be born on a cursed mountain. Abruptly standing, he set the lamp back on the table and started to pace again. Suddenly, Ashley and Chris entered the safe room, seeming panicked over something.

"Oh my God! Guys! Thank God!" Emily breathed, relieved that no one else was killed.

"What took you so long?" Sam asked, noticing the stranger wasn't with them.

"It's not so good up there right now-"

"Chris, where's the flamethrower guy?"

"Ah yeah, he uh…"

"He didn't make it, did he?" Edith asked, frowning.

"The thing, it... it tore him apart! Right in front of me!" Chris leaned against the cabinets, greatly affected by the stranger's demise.

"Alright." Mike began, running back to the open doorway. "These all the doors?"

"Yeah." Nodded Sam.

"Are you sure?"

"What are you looking for?"

"Another way out."

"Mike... I really don't think that's a good idea. We should stay put, right here, until dawn. At least we're safe down here-"

"Oh? Yeah? All wrapped like a little present with a bow on top for that thing to tear us apart on Christmas morning?" He stopped himself, glancing at Edith who was staring at the floor, tracing circles into her side with her thumb.

"People will come for us. In the morning."

"You don't sound so sure."

"That's what'll happen, right Em?"

"Yeah, I mean... right?"

"Well, you can wait, Edith and I are leaving!"

"Mike, there's no key for the cable car-" Emily tried to tell him, but Mike was determined.

"Josh. He's gotta have it. One of his dirty little tricks. If that fucking thing got a hold of Josh, then... we're shit outta luck."

"I don't know, Mike, it's possible."

"What's possible?" Sam questioned.

"It may have taken him down to the mine."

"What?"

"I saw some horrible stuff down there…" Emily turned around, walking over to the bench. "I think it's where that thing lives and... ...huh." She noticed something the stranger's bag that they brought down.

"Fuck it. I'm gonna get that key. Right from thing's goddamned bedroom, and then I'm gonna get us all the hell out of here."

"Em, what is all that?" Sam asked, looking at the stuff.

"It's that old guy's bag."

"Is that a map?" Mike walked over to see.

"The guy was prepared for anything."

"Not quite."

"What is this place?" Emily pointed at the map, at the sanatorium, and Mike recognised it.

"Oh my God."

"Wait wait wait. What is that?" Sam inquired.

"I was down there. It was horrible."

"You were?"

"Some of them survived, but like... fifteen of 'em didn't make it. There was this reporter and I think he figured out there had been some, like, big cover-up going on. I found these plans - they knew the mines was a death trap, but they let the miners keep working anyway. And... I'm not sure what it means, but... I found this chair, with dried blood all over the place... like somebody'd been tortured. I'm just saying it's weird how much crazy shit's gone up here."

"What's weird is there's a tunnel leading from the lodge to the Sanatorium, see?" Emily pointed to the tunnel on the map.

"That's how I got back here."

"I saw this when I was down there. That's where it lives."

"Em," Ashely gasped, backing away from Emily. Edith looked up to see what was wrong. "What is that?" She pointed at Emily's shoulder. "What is that?"

"Ash…" Emily tried.

"Em... oh my God oh my God oh my God! Oh no, oh no, oh no!"

"It's nothing, it bit me and-"

"It bit you? What bit you?"

"The ah... the Wendigo." Edith could see that both Ashley and Mike tensed up, Ashley more so.

"It's nothing, really, it's not a big deal-" Emily tried to reassure them. Edith was worried that it could get infected, and stood up to check it out, but Mike held an arm out, blocking her way.

"Em... If that thing bit you…"

"I know what you're thinking, and I'm fine…"

"Are you?"

"Yes!"

"Emily, if the Wendigo bit you... You could turn into one of those things."

"Mike, it's not a werewolf. She's fine!" Edith scoffed.

"He said it was from eating each other, remember he said that!" Ashley shout, having a full on panic attack.

"Wait is that how it worked?" Sam asked, looking between everyone.

"Yes! It happens if it bit you, you're gonna turn into one and then you're gonna turn on us oh my God oh my God oh my God!"

"You can't be down here with us." Mike declared, shocking Emily.

"What?!"

"You gotta go."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"You're putting us all in danger! You're putting my baby in danger!"

"Like hell I am!"

"Emily... you can't stay here!" Edith moved around Mike, separating him and Emily.

"Mike just stop for a second! We don't know anything about how this thing works! The old guy has to have something in his bag that could tell us but we just need to calm down!"

"I've seen what these fuckers can do. I don't want to see it again." Chris said, cold and distant. Emily looked between Mike, Ashley, and Chris in disbelief.

"What is this. Guys? What are you doing?"

"Door's right here. I am letting you do this voluntarily."

"Oh no you're just making yourself feel better about sending me to my death since you know there's a Wendigo out there rip me to pieces like it did with-"

"Oh my God will you just go! Go, get out of here!" Ashley interrupted. Mike grabs the gun and points it at Emily. Edith stands back in shock, scared about what might happen next.

"You're going to shoot me? Mike... me?"

"This is the safe room, Em! It's not safe as long as you're in it... Not for us!"

"No... Don-Don't do this!" Emily backs up onto the bench, trying to make herself smaller.

"I'm really sorry…" Edith stares at the gun, and she makes a split second decision. Putting herself between Mike and Emily, she stares at Mike with pleading eyes. The moment she is in the way, he puts the gun down.

"Edith, move out of the way." He tells her, his hands shaking.

"Michael, please don't. This isn't you." They stare at each other for a few seconds, having a silent conversation. Finally, he drops the gun to the ground and embraces Edith in a desperate hug.

"God I'm sorry." He croaks, sounding on the verge of tears. She strokes his hair, promising that she wasn't mad, that it was okay. Parting, she quickly kisses Mike, making him promise her that he'd come back to her.

"I promise." Turning to leave, he turns back to tell them something. "Keep an eye on her. If you see anything weird... you guys know what to do." Ashley nodded her head. "No one leaves. Okay? It's not safe out there. I'll be back soon." Mike exits the basement. Edith watches his retreating form before sitting down again, groaning at the contraction that hit her.

She paid no mind to Ashely as she stood beside her, looking through the stranger's journal. She occasionally heard the redhead talk to herself. Only when she heard the telltale tone of panic did she turn to look.

"Oh... Oh no no no no no."

"What? What is it? what does it say?" Edith asked.

"It says that... well... the bites... if it bites you... it's not infectious. It doesn't do anything."

"Let me see that!" Sam ran over and took the journal, leafing through it as Emily shot up on the bench.

"I'm sorry what did you say?"

"Em, it says you'll be okay…"

"It says what?"

"You're going to be fine." Sam assured, but Emily wasn't as relieved as Edith thought she would be.

"Fine?! Mike almost shot me? Is that fine?!"

"He didn't shoot you-"

"And this bitch almost let him!" She pointed to Ashley.

"Hey! That's not fair! She was scared -"

"I'm the one who's scared."

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry Emily... I didn't know what was going to happen... None of us know!" Ashley tried to explain, nervous.

"There's- There's no excuse! There's no excuse for this!"

"Please, Emily, please just try to understand -"

"Understand the palm of my hand, bitch." Emily slaps Ashley, while Sam is reading through the Stranger's journal. Edith helped Ashley up, frowning at Emily.

"I'm sorry... I'm so so so so sorry…" She muttered.

"You know, I can do without all the friend on friend violence!" Edith snapped.

"She's the one who started all of this!"

"Enough! God, I know you're scared, everyone is, but none of you about to fucking give birth on a cursed mountain with Goddamn wendigos waiting to kill you and your baby! How scared do you think I am!? Gah!" Clutching her stomach, she hissed as Claire moved around, as if feeling her mother's anger and fear.

"Shit. Shit-shit-shit... We've got to get to Mike, like now!" Sam blurt out. "Someone needs to stay with Edith."

"No, no if Mike is in danger then I'm coming with you."

"Edie, I really don't think that's a good idea-"

"Don't try to argue with the pregnant lady! I'm going." Understanding that she wouldn't win that fight, Sam helped lead Edith along as they made their way to the sanatorium. Unbeknownst to everyone, Edith had left behind a small puddle of blood on her chair.


	6. Misery and Joy

Sam, Ashley, Edith, Chris, and Emily are walking to the sanatorium, both Chris and Edith moving along slowly. Despite the increasing contractions, Edith keeps pushing herself forward to get to Mike. Chris, unfortunately, is having a harder time.

"Hey... ahhh... I'm kinda gimping out here, guys... I think maybe you should go on without me." He pants, feeling his injuries all screaming at him.

"No. Chris. We are not leaving you. We're sticking together. Mike will just have to wait." Ashley assures, staying close to him. Edith grins at him, a pain filled one at least, and encourages him to keep moving.

As they reach the end of the tunnel, Sam attempts to open the door into the Sanatorium.

"Oh shit. Mike must have locked it behind him. Crap! There's gotta be another way in."

Ashley walks around and finds a manhole.

"Wait, hey! What about this?"

"Oh... Huh."

"I mean, should... should we try it?"

"Well it's not like we got a whole lot of choices here…" Ashley grabs a pipe and uses it to open the manhole covering. Sam and Ashley carry the manhole to the side.

"Okay... ugh! Okay this is the last place I'd wanna be in right now."

"So who's going first?"

"After you." Emily waves.

Sam goes into the manhole and climbs down.

"Not so bad. You think this is the tunnel to the Sanitorium?"

"Of course it is. Where else would it go?" Ashley helps Edith to climb down, Sam helping once she could reach her. Sam noticed some blood on her thighs, but it didn't look like a lot, so she didn't worry too much.

"You okay, Edie?" She asked once Edith was on the ground

"As okay as I can be in this situation." She pants, massaging her lower back.

Edith steeles herself as they continue walking to the sanatorium. Ashley stays behind to close up the manhole. As they continue to walk, Edith felt like she would collapse at any moment. She shouldn't be moving around so much, but she needed to get to Mike. Time seemed to pass by as Edith was left to her thoughts, and soon Ashley had rejoined them.

"Oh my god I am so glad to see you." She exclaimed.

"Glad you're safe."

"Look... look there!" Ashely pointed up to a broken ladder, high up off the ground. "The ladder's toast, we're never going to make it up there!"

"No no no, I think I can... I think I can do it. It's like... a rock wall. I'm gonna keep going. You should head back to the lodge I've gotta get Mike." Sam said, walking towards the cave wall.

"Wait!" Edith called out. "Be careful, that goes for both you and Mike."

"I know." Sam nodded.

Chris escorted Edith back to the lodge, letting her lean against him when she needed it, despite his own pain. By now the contractions were three minutes apart. Something was wrong for her labor to be progressing so fast.

By the time they had reached the lodge, Edith was panting, clutching her stomach as she struggled to walk. Chris set her down on the chair, not noticing the blood that was on it. She was crying, whether in pain or in fear, she didn't know. Sweat covered her skin, making her hair stick to her face.

"She's coming soon! Oh God!" Gunting in pain, she threw her head back and cursed.

"Ju-just take deep breaths." Chris suggested, taking a deep breath in and releasing it. Edith frowned, swatting at him, but she was too far to hit him.

"What the fuck have I been doing? Juggling?! I'm breathing, okay!" She growled, shifting in the chair.

"Right, sorry." Chris winced.

"God, where's Mike?" Edith looked to the exit of the basement, praying that he would walk through any moment. He didn't.

* * *

"Okay, just hold my hand anytime it gets too much." Edith gripped Chris's hand, making him regret this decision. It had been over an hour since Mike left, Sam following after him, and the contractions were the worst they've ever been. Edith just wanted all of this to be over, for her to be in the hospital holding her baby.

"I don't know if I can do this." She cried, afraid.

"Hey, you've survived this entire fucked up night. You can do this, Edith. I have faith in you." Chris squeezed her hand, giving her an encouraging grin.

"I can do this, I can do this." Edith winced in pain, gritting her teeth. "I can do this!"

Suddenly, a sharp shriek echoed through the basement, and everyone froze in place. Edith shook as another shriek emitt closer to the basement.

"What was that?" She whispered, petrified. No one answered as Chris helped her to her feet, unlocking the gate and leading her out of the room. When the wendigo leapt into the room, everyone took off, Chris nearly carrying Edith along.

"Shit! Move, move!" He shouted out, but it wasn't needed. Everyone was already running. They run up the stairs to the cinema room, Edith immediately spotting Mike at the end of the hall.

"Mike!" She ran to his arms, feeling like her legs would give out as the pain increased.

"GET OUTTA HERE GO GOGO!" Chris runs out of the basement, Ashley following behind.

"GO! RUN!" Emily pushes Ashley while she is running and runs out of the basement before Ashley.

"GO GO WE GOTTA GO!"

Mike grabs Edith and runs up the stairs, Sam shutting the door before running up to follow them. They make it to the top, and Mike stops them, holding Edith closer to his body. Hanging on the ceiling decoration is a wendigo, waiting for them. Sam runs up, unaware of the danger. She looks up just in time to stop, spotting the wendigo.

"Don't... move... don't fucking move a muscle…" Mike whispers, tightening his hold on Edith as he feels her shivering in pain.

Edith watches in fear as the wendigo jumps down, the two others joining them upstairs. The first wendigo picks a fight with one of the other two. In the fight, Edith can see something on the skin of the first wendigo, and had to bite her tongue to keep from crying. It was Hannah's butterfly tattoo. The wendigo was Hannah. Wendigo Hannah overpowers the other Wendigo and throws him into the stairs, breaking them, and then to the fireplace, breaking a gas pipe in the process. Mike looks at the pipe. The Wendigo recovers and climbs up the wall, Hannah Wendigo following.

Mike looks at the leaking pipe, then at a light bulb, then back at the pipe, then to the light switch near the exit. Sam notices this and nods in agreement.

A Wendigo approaches Hannah Wendigo, who throws another Wendigo away. The Wendigo goes to the railing of the upper floor and both Wendigos jump at each other. Hannah Wendigo grabs the other Wendigo by the head and smashes him to the ground, then swiftly decapitates him. Sam slowly walks back, but the wood beneath her creaks. Wendigo Hannah screams at Sam's direction.

While Hannah approaches Sam, Mike slowly walks to the light bulb. Edith stands as still as she can, though unable to stop her legs from quivering. Mike grunts as he squeezes the light bulb so it breaks. Slowly, Edith sees that Emily, Ashely, and Chris has escaped the lodge, but she didn't trust her legs enough to carry her anymore, and was stuck.

Edith noticed that Wendigo Hannah has turned her attention to Mike. Her heart clenches in fear. Suddenly, Sam shouts, catching Wendigo Hannah's attention. It turns to her, screaming and shrieking. She barely noticed when Mike approached her, flinching when he picked her up and began to back out of the lodge.

Her body began to shake more and more, tears trailing down her face. The moment Mike had taken her completely out of the lodge, carrying her a good distance away, did she cry aloud.

"She's coming, she's coming, oh God, she's coming!" She sobbed, needing to push.

"Now?" Mike asked, incredulous.

"Yes now!"

Okay… okay okay." Mike carried her over to a picnic table, brushing off the snow and setting her on top. Slipping out of his jacket, he laid it over her legs, propping them up on the table. Now Mike could see she was crowning, and began to recall all the birthing classes he attended.

"Okay, on the count of three, I want you to push for ten seconds. Ready?" Mike tenderly rubbed her thighs hoping it would soothe her. Edith nodded, taking a deep breath. "One, two, three!"

Edith grit her teeth as she began to push, feeling like her body was being ripped in half. Crying, she gripped the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white.

"Good, now I want you to do it again-" The lodge suddenly exploded, sending everyone to the ground. Mike quickly covered Edith with his own body, looking up once he believed it was safe. Sam was on the ground, along with the others. Edith looked back and saw something swirling around in the fire. It was the wendigo spirit, and it flew out of the lodge, back into the mountain.

"Look!" Edith pointed. A helicopter was flying above the burning lodge. Mike laughed a little, grabbing hold of Edith's hand.

"I told you everything would be alright." He smiled. Edith smiled back before crying in pain, reminding Mike of what was currently happening. "Right, okay, push!"

Edith pushed, now motivated by the helicopter coming to save them. Sam ran over and took her hand, comforting her as she gave birth.

"The head is almost out. You can do it!"

Nodding, she took a deep breath and began to push with all her strength, screaming out as she felt the head slide out of her body. It was a small victory to her, the hard part was basically over. With one last push, she felt Claire slide completely out of her, and her cries were like an angel's trumpet.

"Oh my God!" Edith breathed, almost unbelieving that this happened.

"Edith you did it! I'm so proud of you." Sam hugged her friend, helping her to sit up to see her baby girl. Mike was holding her against his chest, wrapping Claire in his jacket to keep her warm. Emily, Ashley, and Chris stood by the side, watching a beautiful moment between their friends.

"Look what we did." Mike cooed, rocking Claire in his arms. "God, she's beautiful." Tears built up in his eyes as he looked at his beautiful daughter and the woman he loved. Moving over to Edith's side, he gently set Claire in Edith's arms, holding them both close to him. "We did it."

"We did." Edith beamed, leaning against Mike.

The rescuers approached the scene, surprised by what they saw. Behind them were Matt and Jessica. Jessica watched Mike and Edith hold their baby, and smiled to herself despite it all. Paramedics checked over Edith and Claire, happy to announce them both healthy. No tears or significant blood loss for Edith, and no abnormalities for Claire. It was the one good thing to come from that night.

* * *

_Interviewer: Are you sure you're up for this?_

_Edith: Yeah, I just want to get it over with._

_Interviewer: What happened up on the mountain?_

_Edith: It was just supposed to be a get together, a fun weekend. Josh had everything set up for a horrible prank. He manipulated everyone, kidnapped me in my sleep and locked me away. He kept showing me pictures of Mike with other girls, telling me that he didn't care about me or my baby._

_Interviewer: Were you not together?_

_Edith: No. Mike freaked out, afraid of commitment but, he secretly cared for Claire. He took pregnancy and birthing classes in secret. I knew that he wasn't what Josh thought he was._

_Interviewer: What happened next?_

_Edith: These, things, they came out of nowhere. They killed this old guy that showed up, trying to help us. He knew all about them, it still didn't help. I thought they could get me, get Claire, Mike, God I was so scared. I don't ever want to be that scared again._

* * *

Edith lay in her hospital bed, rocking Claire in her arms. A knock on the door caused her to look up, seeing Mike leaning against the frame, now cleaned up and his wounds cared for.

"Hey, how is everyone?" She asked, being taken away the moment the helicopter landed.

"They're good, good."

"And Jess? Did you see to her?" Mike cleared his throat, entering the room and pulling up a chair.

"Yeah. Just got done talking to her." He rubbed a hand over his face, a sign that he had something important to say but didn't know how.

"Is everything okay?" Edith hesitated.

"Everything is fine. We were just uh, talking about us. She… she dumped me."

"Mike I'm sorry-"

"No, don't be. I'm actually glad she did." Now Edith was confused.

"What?"

"I realized that while I was with her, all I ever thought about was you and the baby. I was wracked with guilt for not being there for you both. And after tonight, I've realized I love you too much to let you go."

Edith looked at Mike, eyes wet. Claire seemed to be watching her parents, like she was waiting for Edith to say something.

"I want to be there for you and Claire. If you'll have me, that is." Edith laughed, wiping her eyes.

"Of course! I- God this was an insane night." She giggled, watching Claire stick out her tongue.

"Heh, sure was." Mike leaned up and captured Edith in a kiss, passion seeping out of them both. "I love you Edith Harrison."

"And I love you Mike Munroe."

* * *

**Two months later**

Edith is standing over a marble headstone, gently bouncing Claire in her arms as Mike placed a bouquet of flowers down. She still couldn't wrap her head around the name carved into the stone. Here lies Joshua Washington, A son, a brother, and a friend. When a search party was sent to the mines, Edith hoped that they would find Josh, alive. That wasn't the case.

"I should have told him it was Hannah." Mike lamented, overcome with guilt.

"Babe, you couldn't have known. You did everything you could."

"It wasn't enough."

"Stop." Edith gently placed her hand on his cheek, turning his face so she could look into his eyes. "You made yourself the hero that night, and you did everything you could to keep us safe. I am so proud of you, Michael."

Mike breathed in, looking back at the gravestone. He couldn't get his screams out of his head, and then they went silent.

"I accused him of killing Jess. I pointed a gun at his head. I failed to keep him safe. I'm a failure, Edith."

"She doesn't think so." Edith glanced down at Claire, who was staring up at her father with curious eyes.

Reaching out a tiny hand, she grabbed hold of his jacket, tugging it towards her, intending to put the cloth in her mouth. Mike couldn't help but to smile and laugh, taking his daughter into his arms. His pride and joy, the best thing that could ever happen to him. Claire giggled as Mike bounced her up and down, Edith smiling at the two. Staring back at Edith, Mike leaned in and kissed the woman he loved.

"Thank you, Edith."

As the couple began to make their way back to Mike's car, Claire looked back over her dad's shoulder to see three people at the grave,two girls and a guy. One girl with long hair and glasses stood beside the other girl, her hair shorter and hidden by a beanie. They looked the same, smiles matching as they waved to Claire. The guy was taller than the girls, wearing coveralls and a cocky grin. He saluted Claire, putting his arms around the other two.

Josh watched as the happy couple left, their tiny child smiling and giggling at them. Hannah and Beth cooed at the baby, making Josh roll his eyes.

"C'mon," Josh nudged his sisters. "I'm really curious to see what's on the other side of that big bright light." He mentioned, nodding behind him.

"It's probably all the booze you can down, dear brother." Beth teased, and Josh couldn't argue with that.

"I wonder if it's like the movies. I wonder if we get wings, or maybe halos." Hannah wondered, excited about what could be on the other side.

As they walked on into the light, Josh found that he was the happiest he's been in a year. He was with his sisters once again, and he could let go of everything that had plagued him since that fateful day over a year ago. Maybe now, everything would be all right again, and his friends could forgive him, and move on stronger than before. As the light grew brighter, enveloping their bodies, for once, everything felt at peace.


End file.
